Introduction: Inappropriate use of antibiotics not only drives antibiotic resistance and misuses resources but also increases the risk of potentially fatal reactions and exposes people to unnecessary side effects and unfavorable outcomes ranging from gastrointestinal disturbances to fatal anaphylactic shock. In developed countries, surveys about general dental practitioners' prescribing habits have raised awareness of the quality of prescriptions of antibiotics. Whilst some surveys have emphasized that dental prescriptions do not follow clinical guidelines, other authors have concluded that there is a lack of scientific information about appropriate and efficient prescription of proper antibiotic. Moreover, changes in the dental pharmacotherapeutic field have been so rapid in recent years that necessitate the constant updating of dental practitioners' knowledge about new drugs, drug interactions, and useful therapeutic trends is necessary.
Methods: We have conducted a descriptive cross-sectional study among dentists and dental trainee in Jazan city. The questionnaire required information about antibiotic prescription habits, knowledge about preventive majors of dental infection, and followed approaches in dental emergencies. Data collected through distribution of online filled questionnaire. The participants filled the questionnaire online then resent it again to the researcher. The distributed questionnaire was in Arabic language to overcome the language barrier. Collected data verified and coded before its entry to Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS).
Results: Participants were classified into four categories by age: from 20 to 24 years (30.9%), from 25 to 30 years (53.9%), from 31 to 35 years (8.6%) and above 35 years (6.6%). More than half of participants were Dental graduates (56.4%%), (37%) were students and Interns, (6.2%) were with Master/ Diploma and only one of them with PhD (.4%).The majority of participants prescribed antibiotic for acute apical abscess (72.8%), on the other hand, less than half of participants (45.7%) prescribed antibiotics for acute apical abscess without systemic involvement, and nearly two thirds (65.4%) of participants prescribed antibiotic for medically compromised patient after tooth extraction.
Conclusion: It is alarming that most dentists do not perform a proper microbial diagnosis before selecting an antibiotic as adjunct periodontal therapy. As a result, they tend to prescribe broad spectrum antibiotics depending on the probability and most likely diagnosis. Also, the misconception of indications for antibiotic prescription and low knowledge about antibiotics assist in the misuse and in proper use of antibiotics.Educational initiatives and continuous refreshment of knowledge may prevent unnecessary prescription in endodontic emergency treatments.